


From One Type of Love to Another

by Gracelyn_Mabry



Category: Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: Bisexual Mike Wheeler, Friends to Lovers, Gay Will Byers, Hawkins (Stranger Things), M/M, Mike Wheeler Loves Will Byers, Will Byers Loves Mike Wheeler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27479806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gracelyn_Mabry/pseuds/Gracelyn_Mabry
Summary: This is my first time writing fan fiction so it may not be the best. I am planning on making the other chapters longer than the first chapter, the first chapter was just a start to the story.
Relationships: Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	1. We're Just Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing fan fiction so it may not be the best. I am planning on making the other chapters longer than the first chapter, the first chapter was just a start to the story.

Mike anxiously looks out the window for the Byers and Eleven to pull into the driveway, he had expected them to arrive nearly an hour ago. He was getting worried. He kept looking out of the window waiting to see the car. Mike’s mom came up behind him “maybe you should take a break, I’m sure you’ll hear the car when they get here.”

“But they were supposed to be here nearly an hour ago and they’re not here yet. I’m worried about them that’s all.” Mike said.

His mom replies “they probably stopped to get something to eat or to get gas, there is nothing to worry about Mike. You’ve been sitting there for an hour, come to get a drink and take a break.”

Just as Mike was about to stop looking out of the window, he saw the car pull into the driveway. Now excited, Mike jumps off the couch and runs to the door.  
As soon as he opens the door, he sees Eleven smiling at him. They hug each other tight while Will, Mrs. Byers, and Johnathan walk into the house and greet the Wheelers. “What took you guys so long to get here,” Mike asks Eleven.

“We got into a little traffic and had to stop and get gas. We weren’t that late” Eleven responded.

Mike looked at Eleven “You guys were nearly an hour late. I was worried something happened.”

“We’re fine and we’re here now so you don’t have to worry anymore,” Eleven said smiling at Mike.

Mike and Eleven stop hugging and Mike goes on to greet Will. Mike decided to hug Will when he walked in the door, Will hugged him back. Will smiles and says “Hey Mike! How have you been? I’ve missed you.”

Mike replies “I’ve been good. I’ve missed you too, it’s been less fun without you.”

Will chuckles a little “Haha, you’ve missed me that much? What about Eleven?”

Mike turns red and says “Um of course it’s not the same without her either. You know I missed her just as much.”

Will chuckles again “Mike I was just joking, I know you missed her too.”

Mike smiles at Will and they go to sit on the couch with the others, Mike sitting next to Eleven. He leans on her and asks “How are you doing? How is the new town?” She smiles and tells him “I’m doing good and I think the new town is quite nice. I missed you and I am glad to see you again.” Mike replies with a smile, “I missed you too.”

Mike and Eleven talk for a few more minutes until Will interrupts their conversation with “Hey we should see if Dustin, Lucas, and Max want to hang out.” Before responding, Mike turns to Will to ask how long they will be here. Will looks at Mike and says “only for the weekend.” Mike wants to spend more time with Will so he replies with “You guys just got here, it’ll be getting dark soon so can we just hang out with them tomorrow.”

Will nods and decides to ask if he and Eleven want to go down to Mike’s room to talk. Eleven and Mike both agree to go down to Mike’s room to play games and catch up. Eleven sits on one side of Mike and Will sits on the other side of him.

When getting into Mike’s room, he starts to set up Dungeons and Dragons when he realizes Eleven doesn’t know how to play. Mike suggested that Will teach her how to play. Will asks “Why should I teach her and not you?”

Mike looks at Will for a minute then responds “Well because you taught me how to play.”

“Maybe we can teach her together, you have some good tactics for this game,” Will tells Mike.

“Okay that sounds like a better idea, where should we start?” Mike feels happy that Will wanted to include him, but he already knew that’s the type of person that Will is. As they teach Eleven how to play they lose track of time.

A few hours pass by and Mike’s mother comes down to tell them that it's time to eat, so they all go up to eat. When they sit at the table, it’s the same seating as when they were in the room, Mike in the middle of Eleven and Will. While they are eating, they start to discuss where they will go to sleep when Mike blurts out “Will and Eleven can sleep in my room!” Everyone looks at Mike, he realizes what he did and turns to his mother and Mrs. Byers embarrassed and says, “if that’s okay with you.” The adults agree and send them off to his room.

They decide to go to sleep soon to get some rest for the next day. They have to decide where each of them will sleep and Mike suggests Eleven sleep in the bed with him.  
The others lay down and fall asleep while Mike lay awake in the bed. All he can think about is how he feels about Will since he got there earlier. They have been best friends for years and recently he started feeling different about Will, a stronger connection. He had been feeling this way all day right after the hug, he was just hiding it and pushing it off to the side. What if he likes Will as more than a friend? No one would accept this, it is not an ideal relationship. What about Eleven, he still wants to be with her. As he is dosing off, he decides he is probably just tired, and he will wake up feeling ridiculous for thinking this. For now, Mike keeps this feeling aside and drifts off into a deep sleep.


	2. New Feelings

Mike is the first one to wake up, he sits up in bed and looks at Eleven and Will. He slowly gets out of bed, trying not to wake Eleven and walks to the kitchen to see if anyone else is awake yet. He catches a glimpse at the clock and realizes that it’s only 6 in the morning. He lays on the couch deciding not to lay back in bed in chances of waking Eleven up. He feels tired but all he can do is lie awake and think about Will. While Will was away all he could do is think about him, he doesn’t understand it but he can’t deny the feeling that he’s been feeling. Maybe being with Eleven just distracted him from his feelings about Will, but he isn’t really sure what to think.

Mike has dosed off on the couch but does not realized that until he feels a tap on his shoulder and a voice that he barely understands. 

“Mike?” 

“Mike?” 

Once Mike recognized that it is Will’s voice he opened his eyes and quickly sat up. Will was standing up looking at him. Mike glanced at the clock and saw that only an hour had passed and it was now 7 in the morning. 

“Hey Will.” 

“Mike how long have you been sleeping on the couch?”

“Not long, only about an hour. I woke up and didn’t want to wake you and Eleven so I just came in here.”

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Not really, was just thinking about stuff”

Will sits next to Mike. Mike turns to Will “You look tired, why are you up so early?” 

“Too excited to see you guys I guess, woke up and saw you were not in bed anymore, so I came to see where you ran off to.” Will says as he moves closer to Mike. 

The room becomes silent as Mike and Will sit on the couch next to each other not knowing what to say. Will puts his head on Mike’s shoulder, Mike was about to say something when he looked over and noticed that Will had fallen asleep. Mike decides to let Will sleep, he liked the feeling of Will’s head on his shoulder and he didn’t want it to go away. As Will sleeps Mike sits on the couch, occasionally glancing at Will and smiling, he thought Will looked cute as he slept. Mike didn’t know why he kept glancing at Will, all he knew was that he could feel a stronger connection between them.

Another two hours has passed, it was now 9 in the morning. Will had been sleeping on Mike’s shoulder the entire time, not moving an inch, Mike was now sleeping as well . Soon Mike’s mom walks in. She sees Mike and Will on the couch and assumes that they are sleeping so she just goes into the kitchen to make breakfast. She tries to be quiet as to not wake anyone and starts to cook. 

A few moments later, Eleven walks into the living room and sees Mike and Will sleeping on the couch. She doesn’t want to wake them, so she goes to sit at the kitchen table. “Good Morning Mrs. Wheeler” she says energetically. Mrs. Wheeler looks up at Eleven “Oh good morning, hope I didn’t wake you.” 

“No you didn’t wake me up, I’ve been up for a little bit” Eleven says as she moves around the kitchen to see what Mrs. Wheeler is cooking. 

Now smiling Mrs. Wheeler responds “Oh good, I was just making breakfast for everyone, I figured everyone could use a good breakfast.” 

Eleven sits back at the kitchen table, “When did Mike and Will come in here to sleep?”

“Oh I’m not sure, when I walked in they were already sleeping there. I didn’t hear either of them come out of the room last night or this morning.” 

As Mrs. Wheeler and Eleven continue talking, Will wakes up and notices that he has been sleeping on Mike the whole time. He quickly sits up taking his head off Mike’s shoulder, this startles Mike and he quickly gets up too. They look at each other and Will, embarrassed, says “Oh, I didn’t know I was laying on you while I was sleeping. I’m sorry Mike.”   
Mike quickly reassures Will “No it’s okay, you were tired.” Mike wanted to tell Will what he really felt about it, how he actually liked it, but he kept that to himself. 

Eleven walks over and sits next to Mike, “I saw you guys sleeping but I didn’t want to wake you up, but why did you come out here to sleep?” 

“I woke up early this morning and didn’t want to wake you up so I stayed in here, then Will came in and we both fell asleep on the couch.” 

“Breakfast is ready!” Mrs. Wheeler yells from the kitchen. Mike, Will, and Eleven walk to the table as well as everyone else who has now just woken up. The table is set nicely and there is a big selection of food for everyone. Once everyone sits down at the table, they start eating. 

As they are eating Mike, Will, and Eleven discuss what they are going to do today with their friends. Will suggest that they all go to the arcade and the others agree and decide to call their friends after breakfast. 

The whole time they are eating breakfast, Mike thinks about how he and Will slept on the couch. He just can’t get it out of his head. He was curious if Will liked it too or if it was just him. He wanted to deny what he was feeling, but he thinks that he may like Will than more than a best friend. Of course he wouldn’t tell anyone, he’s not sure yet, but even if he was, it would be too much to tell people. 

“Mike?” Will asks “Done eating?”

Snapping out of his thoughts and seeing that everyone is finished eating, Mike says “Oh yea, sorry I was just thinking.”

“Need to talk about something?” Will asks, sounding concerned.

“No it’s okay, let’s call Dustin and Lucas. Eleven can call Max.” Mike wasn’t ready to tell Will what was on his mind.

They excuse themselves from the table and go off to call their friends. Mike and Will call Dustin and Lucas while Eleven calls Max. They all seem excited to go to the arcade and agree to meet in an hour. They tell their parents what they are planning to do and sit on the couch to watch TV until they have to leave to meet with their friends.


	3. The Truth, Part 1

Mike looks at the clock and realizes that 40 minutes have passed already and they should be heading to the arcade. He turns to the others, “We should leave, it will take some time to get to the arcade.” Will and Eleven nod as Mike goes into the kitchen where the parents are still sitting and talking, “We’re going to meet up with Dustin, Lucas, and Max at the arcade be back in a few hours.” 

Mrs. Wheeler gives a grin “Okay, you guys be safe and be back before dark.”

“We will,” Mike says as he approaches the front door where Will and Eleven are waiting for him. As they walk out of the front door, something occurs to Will “Hey Mike, how will we get there?”

“Bik- oh, I forgot that you don’t have a bike with you. I’m sure we have a spare bike, I’ll go check.” Mike goes to the backyard and sees Nancy’s old bike, he brings it back to the front. Will looks at the bike in surprise as Mike brings it around. The bike is bright pink and blue with a little bell on the front. Surprisingly, the bike still has its color, though a little faded. 

“This is Nancy’s old bike, but it’s the only other bike that we have.” 

It is silent for a second until Eleven suggests “Maybe I ride the pink bike and you and Will can take your bike.”

Mike and Will look at each other for a brief second “Oh. Um. Are you sure? You don’t think it would look weird” Mike asks awkwardly.

“I don’t think it’s weirder than seeing a guy on a bike that’s pink and is too small for him. I will fit the bike better and it will look less awkward.” Turning to them she says, “So what do you say?” 

“I say that sounds like a good plan, as long as it’s alright with you Mike” Will says now looking at Mike. 

“Oh, uh, yea it’s alright with me. I was jut making sure it was alright with you first.” Mike didn’t want to show how he felt, but inside he was secretly happy it worked out this way. 

Will is already getting on to the bike and interrupts Mike’s thoughts with, “Let’s go, we’re just wasting time standing around.” 

“You’re right,” Mike gets onto the bike now and starts to ride to the arcade. The whole way there Mike can feel Will’s arms around him, he had to do this so he would stay on the bike, but Mike couldn’t help but to feel a connection there. To Mike, this was a sign that he did have deeper feelings for Will than he thought. If he was unsure of his feelings for Will before, he wasn’t now, because as they rode he felt butterflies in his stomach and it didn’t feel awkward that he was holding on to him. He kept having these thoughts until they arrived at the arcade.

Once they arrive at the arcade, they see that their friends are already there waiting for them outside. They all greet happily with each other as they walk into the arcade. They decide to split up, the boys and the girls. As the boys go one way, the girls go another. “So how ya been Will, anything happen at your new place,” asks Dustin. 

“No everything’s been fine and nothing bad has happened yet.” 

“That’s good, we miss you around here, with you and Eleven gone there are two less people in the group, makes it feel like a piece is missing.” 

“That’s sweet, but we will keep coming to visit so we’re not away for too long, I think my misses it here sometimes too.”

The boys keep catching up with Will while Mike zones out again to think about Will. He has been doing this a lot over the past two days that Will has been here and the trip on the way here made him think even more. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that his feelings for Eleven are starting to slowly fade. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he felt like not telling her the truth would hurt her even more. He had to tell her, but he also had to tell Will, he probably didn’t feel the same but he still needed to tell him. Mike was torn on who he should tell first, Will or Eleven, but he was also torn on how he would tell them. He knew he wanted to get the truth out before they left tomorrow to go back home, he was just afraid to do it. 

A few minutes later while playing a few games Lucas comes up to Mike “Hey man you alright, you haven’t said much since you got here.” 

Lying to Lucas he replies, “Yeah I’m alright, just thought I would let you guys get caught up with Will, I still live here and see you like every day.”

“I know but it’s not like you to be so quiet, we still want to talk to you.”

“I zoned out for a little while but I’m okay let’s play some more games.” 

Lucas nods his head and they meet up with Dustin and Will again. They play for a few more hours until they see it about to get dark outside. “My mom said to be home before dark so we should be leaving soon.” 

“Let’s find the girls and cash out tickets first” Dustin mentions. 

The boys were about to look for Max and Eleven when they saw them walking to the front with a bunch of tickets. “It’s getting late so we thought we’d cash in our tickets” it was Max speaking, she was holding a whole load of tickets in her hand. 

“We were coming to get you so we could do the same, we have to get home before it gets dark out” Mike says to them. 

They all walk up to the ticket prizes and cash them in and pick out prizes one by one until they all have something. They walk out of the arcade and to their bikes. Dustin and Lucas give Will a brief hug, Max the same with Eleven. “It was nice catching up, hope it won’t be too long before we see you guys again” Will says getting back on to Mike’s bike.

Dustin getting onto his replies, “Yea hope to you see ya real soon” he waves goodbye and leaves. 

Everyone does the same and before he knew it, Mike was back on the bike with Will’s arms wrapped around him. The same feeling he had on the way here he had all the way back. He didn’t mind the feeling, he actually quite liked the feeling of Will’s arms wrapped around his waist. The only thing he didn’t like was the realization he had that he was going to have to break the truth to Eleven and Will, he didn’t like the feeling of keeping a secret from his girlfriend or friends, so he had to do it soon. On the way back he was thinking about how to tell them the news. 

When they got back to the house dinner was ready, so they sat down to eat. They talked about their day with their friends to everyone. During the conversation, Mike decided that he was going to tell Eleven first how he felt because that was his girlfriend and he wanted her to be the first to know. He hated to break up with her the night before she was leaving, but he knew he had to do it. After they ate Mike decided to pull Eleven alone for a minute, he wanted to discuss it with her. 

Mike and Eleven sit down across from each other in his room. “Is everything okay?” Eleven asks sounding worried. 

“I need to talk to you about something that has been on my mind recently.” 

“Okay, what is it?” She asks still sounding worried.

“Well, I don’t know how to put this but uh..”

A moment of silence

“I.. Uh..”

More silence

“I think I may like somebody else.” Mike quickly says, making the words sound jumbled together. He waits for Eleven’s reaction.


	4. The Truth, Part 2

Eleven looks at Mike for a little bit, trying to take in what he just said. “You like somebody else?” she asks, her voice breaking. 

Mike takes her hand, “I’m sorry El.” He looks down and lets her hand go.

She looks at him, now sad, “Is it because I went away? You know I had t-”

“It’s not because you went away. That’s not it at all.” Mike interrupts her. He looks up at her and sees a tear roll down her cheek.

“What is it then? Did I do something?” 

Mike wipes her tears, “It’s not you. You did nothing wrong, I just like someone else.”

Eleven turns away. Mike puts a hand on her shoulder “Let me explain El, I want to tell you about it.” He feels bad, but he knows he has to do this if he ever wants a chance with Will. 

“Explain what? That you like someone else? You don’t have to explain that, I know what that means. You’re breaking up with me for someone else,” her voice sounds even more broken now, she starts crying. 

“It’s not like that. I didn’t want it to go like this. Let me just explain. When you were away I always thought about you, but I started to think about another person just as much. When I am with this person it just feels different than it used to before. I started falling for them, but there is a chance they don’t like me at all. I know it hurts you that I am breaking up with you, but I have to. I’m sorry.” 

Eleven goes to walk out of the door but Mike gently grabs her arm, “Please don’t go. I don’t want to lose you. I want to stay friends. I know I am breaking up with you, but you are too special to just walk out of my life. Please.”

Eleven turns around, “You expect me to just be your friend after you break up with me?”

“Yes, please”

Eleven doesn’t want to lose Mike either so she agrees to stay friends.

“Who is it?” Eleven looks at Mike again, still visibly sad but not crying as much.

“What do you mean?” 

“Who is it that you like instead of me?” 

Looking at Eleven like this, Mike realizes how much he loved her, but the connection faded and the connection with Will grew. If Will didn’t like him back, he would feel so horrible for what he did to Eleven, this is when he realized he should have talked to Will first. If he talked to Will first, it would have hurt Eleven’s trust, but it would have given him an idea on if he needed to break up with her or not. He wasn’t ready to tell her who it was, but in this moment, he had to. 

“Will…”

There was a second of silence that Eleven broke, she was not crying anymore, “Will? Your best friend?”

Mike turned red “Y-yea” 

Eleven is surprised by his answer, she didn’t think of him to be like this. “So, you like boys and girls?” 

“Yes, but I didn’t know that until I started to feel a different connection whenever I was around Will, a stronger connection. That’s when I knew that I had feelings for him.”   
“Why do you think he wouldn’t like you back?” 

“I don’t think he would be into me. He doesn’t seem like the type to want a relationship either.” Will looks at Eleven and frowns, realizing that his crush may not want to be with him. He is starting to second guess his decision, but that feeling for Will is still there, strong. 

Eleven seems socked by this, “I’ve seen the way Will looks at you, I think he likes you. He always stayed around you the most when we all were together, I think it was more than just friendship. Will has never had a girlfriend and never has seem interested in them, maybe its because he wants a boyfriend and he is waiting for the right one. But we can’t just make assumptions about Will’s romantic interests.” 

“Really you think so?”

“Yes, you will have to be the one to talk to him about it, he won’t tell us his interests if he’s not ready. Just like you probably won’t tell anyone you are into both boys and girls until you are ready, right?” Eleven asks now looking right at Mike.

“Yes, I don’t think that will go down well with my parents right now. I don’t know how my other friends will feel. Will they still accept me or not.” Mike is tense now, unsure of what to do next.

Eleven goes over and hugs Mike “If they are your true friends they will still accept you, just like they would accept if you and Will were to get into a relationship. I’m sure your parents will still accept you, even if it takes a little time.” 

“So you accept that I’m bisexual? And that I broke up with you for having feelings for our friend?” 

“I am still hurt that you broke up with me but not because it was for our friend. I accept you for who you are because you told me the truth as soon as you felt it. I still love you as a friend and I am glad you didn’t just break up with me and leave me in the dust.” 

Mike now hugs Eleven back, “Thank you, I really needed to hear that. Like I said, you are too special to me to just have you leave. I hope there are no bad feelings.”  
Eleven is smiling now, “Maybe bad feelings just for a little bit because we broke up, but in the end, all I want is to see you happy.” 

Mike is smiling now too, “Thank you for being so understanding, it means a lot.”

“No Problem” Eleven says and steps out of the hug. 

The conversation is over and it went better than Mike thought. He is happy how it ended, Eleven was smiling and not crying anymore plus he gets to keep her. Now he has to talk to Will which will be the harder part, he doesn’t want to get denied. Eleven and Mike were just about to walk out of the room when Will comes in. “Hey, you guys have been in here for a while, was just coming to see if everything was okay.” 

Eleven looks at Mike then looks at Will, “Yes everything is fine, we just had a talk and were about to come out.” 

They all walk out of the room back into the living room. Mike gets nervous as he remembers that he soon has to make the talk with Will. He hopes that Will feels the same about him, but he is still unsure how things will turn out. They all sit on the couch, Mike in the middle of Eleven and Will. Will still has no idea what happened when Eleven and Mike was alone in the room and he doesn’t know that it has anything to do with him. They sit silently on the couch for a few minutes until Mike has the courage to turn to Will and ask, “Can we talk alone?” 

“Sure,” Will stand ups and looks at Mike. Mike stands up as well and they go off to the room, leaving Eleven behind. 

As they get into the room, they both sit down across from each other. “So is everything okay?” Will sounds concerned. 

“Yes everything is okay, I just wanted to talk to you about something.” Mike’s heart is racing, he gets more and more nervous as the time gets closer to when he reveals his secret to Will. Will must sense the nervousness that Mike feels because he asks again “are you sure everything is okay? You look tense.” 

“Yes I’m sure.” Mike knows that he should get to the point quick so that he has less time to worry about telling him. Mike figures that there are three scenarios that can happen: the worst being that Will doesn’t like him and he lost his girlfriend, slightly better being that Will likes him but doesn’t want a relationship right now but maybe in the future, or the best being that Will likes him and wants to try a relationship. Mike is thinking too much and wants to just go for it. 

“What is it that you wanted to talk about?”

Nervously Mike gets to the point, “I think I am bisexual.”

Will doesn’t look surprised, but he is curious, “What makes you say that?”

“Well because I have feelings for a boy, but I still like girls too” Mike responds. 

“Oh, okay. Does Eleven know about that?”

“Yes that’s what we were talking about. I broke up with her because I had feelings for this boy and I was planning on asking him out. I don’t know if he has the same feelings as me and I wanted to talk to you about it.” 

“Why me? Is there a specific reason why you chose to talk to me about it instead of the boy you like? I know that it’s not a typical relationship but I’m sure if you talked with him you could work something out.”

“It’s because you are my best friend but also because you are the one that I have feelings for” Mike can’t believe he said it so calmly and confidently, it felt right to say in that moment. 

Will’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor, “I’m the boy you have feelings for?”

“Yes, I don’t know where the feelings came from, but they are there and they are strong. Ever since you moved away, my feelings for Eleven faded while my feelings for you grew. I’m sorry that I just sprung this on you, but it’s been on my mind and I wanted to talk about it before you went back home.” 

“No, it’s okay. I’m not attracted to girls, but I’ve never told anyone because it’s not normal. But over the years we have grown together as best friends, but about three years ago I started feelings different about you. In a good way, not in a bad way. I had a small crush on you but I didn’t think you would like me back, because Eleven was your girlfriend and you guys were so in love.”

“You have feelings for me?” Mike asks filled with joy.

Will sees the smile on Mike’s face and exchanges the smile, “Yes for a few years now, but you always had Eleven.”

“I did love Eleven in our relationship but when I developed feelings for you, I would think about you more than her, so I broke up with her because I wanted her to know the truth.” All Mike could think about was how happy he was that Will had the same feelings.

Will was talking but Mike zoned out for a minute so he could see Will’s mouth move but he did not hear anything he was saying. Mike was happy in his thoughts about what is happening but he is also thinking about Eleven and how heartbroken she must be. Suddenly Mike catches himself thinking about their future together, just like he did when he was with Eleven. Mike’s thoughts are interrupted by Will, “Mike?”

“Yes Will?”

“Did you hear me?” 

“Sorry, I zoned out for a minute” Mike says with a frown.

“It’s okay, I was just talking about how I started to like boys instead of girls and how I started liking you.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry. You can talk about it. I’m listening.”

“We can talk about it a different day, I feel like that’s a boring topic anyways.”

“Are you sure? We have time to talk about it.” Mike said feeling bad for not listening to Will prior.

“I’m sure” Will said smiling so Mike took that and just let it go. 

“I wanted to ask you a question” Mike suddenly sounds serious.

“Okay, what is your question?” Will asks now looking directly into Mike’s eyes. 

“Would you like to date? We can keep it a secret if you want, I‘m not ready to tell our friends or parents right now anyways,” Mike is blushing now.

Will is beaming with joy but makes sure not to sound too overexcited, “Yes, I would really like to date. We have to tell them soon I know it’s scary, but we can’t keep this secret for long, I’ve already kept my secret long enough.”

Mike is also beaming with joy, “We can figure it out later, for now let’s focus on us.”

“Okay, you got it.” Will reaches to grab Mike’s hand and Mike grabs his hand. They hold hands for a few moments then walk back to the living room. Mike sits in the middle of Eleven and Will on the couch so everything seems normal when the adults come in. 

Eleven whispers into Mike’s ear “so are you and Will a couple now?” 

Mike looks at Eleven smiling from ear to ear and nods. Eleven smiles back at him and whispers “I’m happy for you both. I won’t tell anyone. Promise.”


	5. The Truth, Part 3

The time was now 9:30 pm. Mike, Will, and Eleven spent the rest of the day just watching TV on the couch. They decided they should try to go to sleep earlier tonight since Mrs. Byers already decided that there were leaving first thing in the morning to head back home. Throughout the day neither Mike nor Will said anything to anyone about their relationship, this made Mike tense, he didn’t like keeping secrets. Looking at the time, Mike decided they should hang out in his room for a little before going to bed. 

When going to the room Mike announces, “I’m pretty tired, how about we just call it a night.” 

The others look at him before Will senses that Mike is tense, he doesn’t want to point it out so he just tells Mike “Sure, we should all get some rest.” 

Will lets Eleven sleep on the bed with Mike again, he doesn’t want to sleep in the bed with Mike just yet and the others agree. When they all get situated, the room goes silent and soon enough everyone is asleep.

They wake up the next morning to Mrs. Wheeler coming in the room “I made some breakfast so you guys can eat before leaving.”   
Mike was the first to sit up in bed “Thanks mom, we’ll be out soon.” 

Mrs. Wheeler smiles then leaves the room, giving them time to get ready. They get dressed and go on to eat breakfast. After they ate breakfast it was time for Mrs. Byers and the kids to leave. She let them say goodbye while she went to put things in the car. Mike hugged Eleven and Will then walked outside with them. While walking to the car Will waved, “See you next weekend!” 

Just like that Will and Eleven were gone again. Mike was happy with how the weekend went but wished it could have lasted longer. As Mike goes inside, he goes to his room realizing that he is still tired. He decides to go back to sleep just for a little bit. 

It’s been a month now since Mike and Will confessed to each other, their relationship is growing stronger and they are more comfortable with it. They still haven’t told their parents yet, but they are planning on doing it soon. Will and Eleven visit every weekend and even spent Thanksgiving together. Mike asked his mom if they could to Will’s house to visit during the weekends sometimes so that Mrs. Byers doesn’t have to always drive here, but she declined and started to give a little money to Mrs. Byers for gas. This weekend is the weekend before Christmas, but it is also the weekend Will and Mike will tell their parents and friends their secret. Last weekend they planned on doing it the next time they came to visit. 

It is only noon and Mike can see the car pull into the driveway. He is nervous because he knows today is the day his secret comes out. He goes to open the door for Will and lets the others in. Will goes over to Mike and they start to discuss how they will tell the parents. “I think we should give the news to family at lunch and friends later today, everyone will be in one place ready to listen” Will hints to Mike.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan” Mike replies slightly smiling. 

Will knows that Mike is nervous so he takes his hand “It will be okay. It’s better to do it now than to wait for longer.”

Mike nods and goes to sit on the couch. He turns to Eleven and Will “How was your week?”

“It was good you know, the same stuff as last week” Eleven chuckles a little while saying it. 

Will smiles “My week was good too, nothing new. How was your week?”

The tension fades for a minute as Mike’s focus is on the question Will asked “It was pretty good. Just like you, nothing new happened.” 

Just as Mike says this his mom calls out to them “Lunch is ready, come eat.”

They all walk to the table and sit in the seats they always sit in. Mike’s nervousness grows as the time to letting out the secret gets closer. He tries not to let it show, but he is sure the emotion shows on his face. “Something wrong?” Mrs. Wheeler gives Mike a look of concern.

“No, I just have something to tell you” Mike is even more visibly nervous now.

“What is it?” She asks more attentive.

“Well. I. uh.” Mike looks over to Will, not knowing how to say it. 

His mom looks at him waiting for an answer.

“I like boys and girls,” Mike says.

“You mean like in a friendship way?” his mom seems confused with what he just said.

“No. In a romantic way,” he finally admitted his secret to his parents. 

Mrs. Wheeler’s face turns pale. She was visibly angry at what just came out of Mike’s mouth. Mike knew she was angry but kept going anyway “and I’m in a relationship with a boy right now.” 

She was so upset that she just looked at him with a stern face, not saying anything. Although he felt he went far enough, he kept going, adding the last detail of the secret “and that boy is Will.” 

There was a gasp, but not from Mike’s mom. This gasp came from Mrs. Byers. She looked at Mike then at Will. She looked mildly happy, not mad like Mrs. Wheeler is showing. Then a loud yell came from Mrs. Wheeler across the table “ARE YOU DONE WITH YOUR STORIES!” 

“What stories,” Mike asks, instantly regretting all the information he let out. 

“The stories you just told about being in a romantic relationship with Will.” 

“Mom, it’s not a story. It’s the truth.” 

She looks at him in disbelief then anger “You cannot be serious”

“But I am mom”

“I will not allow this! You are not to be in a relationship with another boy” Mrs. Wheeler yells now standing up. 

Mike looks to his father and sees that he is not angry, he only looks distressed from the yelling. “But I want to” Mike pleads. 

“Well, I said no” she looks as if she is getting angrier by the second. 

Mr. Wheeler speaks up “I think we should let it happen and see how it works out. He is our son and I think he should be allowed to have his own feelings.” 

Mrs. Wheeler starts yelling at her husband “I DO NOT APPROVE” but he argues back “But I do.”

With this Mrs. Wheeler walks away from the table angrily to their room and Mr. Wheeler following her, trying to reason with her. Will looks over to see Mike looking down, he could feel the sadness come from Mike. He was unsure if Mike was crying because he had his head down but he knew holding his hand would comfort him for the time being. While holding Mike’s hand, Will looked over to his mother, who looks concerned. She looks at Will “Do you also like both boys and girls?” 

“No. I only like boys” he was not afraid to tell her anymore, after what Mike just went through, he knew he had to do this for him. 

“Oh, I always had a feeling your type wasn’t girls,” she was smiling now. 

“Mom” Will exclaims, embarrassed. He looks towards Jonathan as if he were looking for approval from him too. 

“If you want me to say something about this, I really have nothing to say except go for it. I don’t mind, I think it’s cool that you are going for what you truly want.” 

Will smiles at this statement and looks towards Nancy and she says, “I don’t mind either. I still love Mike and I know mom will. She is just too shocked right now to understand. Dad will talk to her and she will come around. I know she will.” She is now looking at Mike who is wiping a tear away, she knew him hearing this would settle him down. He smiles at her and feels a little bit better. Will never let go of Mike’s hand even though it was getting sweaty because he knew it’s all he needed right now. He pulled Mike in for a little hug and Mike hugged him back even tighter. Will whispers in Mike’s ear, “We will make it through this, I know it.” Mike does not want to say anything, the pain his mother caused him was too much, so he just sat there. 

Will leans over and whispers to Mike again “We can just tell our friends next weekend. I know they will be more accepting, but I think you need the rest of the weekend to feel comfortable enough to tell. I understand and I will be with you for the rest of the journey.” 

Mike leans on Will feeling in his safe place.


	6. The Truth, Part 4

The day is now Thursday, December 23rd. It has been 6 days since Mike let his secret out, his mother still disapproves of the relationship and prohibits anyone from talking about it. Mike does not want to get into another argument, so he hasn’t talked about it since. It hurts him that this is how things went, but he won’t give up his relationship with Will. 

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and that is when Mike is expecting Will and Eleven to come visit again, but what he is unaware of is that they are coming today instead. Mike is in his room cleaning when he hears a car pull in the driveway. He goes into the living room to see who it is, his parents or sister never left the house today. To his surprise, he sees Will getting out of the car. He opens the door and Will comes inside. 

“I thought you guys were coming tomorrow,” Mike says excited. 

“Well we were, but my mom got off a day early so we decided to come today instead,” Will says now sitting on the couch. 

Mike sits next to him, “You want to meet with our friends tomorrow? We can tell them about us.” 

“I was thinking we could do that today and spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with our family,” Will responded. Will already planned a secret date for Christmas Eve, their first date since they got in a relationship. 

Mike prefers these plans over the plans he had because it gives him and Will more time together alone, “Yea, that sounds like a better plan.”  
“Well, we should call them and ask if we can meet somewhere.” 

Mike nods and goes to grab a phone, “I’ll call Dustin and Lucas, Eleven can call Max. If that is okay with you Will.”  
Will smiles, “Yes that is fine with me.” 

Mike calls Dustin first and he answers fairly quick “Hey, it’s Mike. Will and Eleven are here early, can you meet up at the mall with us in a few minutes?” 

Dustin answers on the other side of the phone “Oh hey Mike, yea I just have to let my mom know I’ll be leaving, she won’t mind. We don’t have any plans.” 

“Okay, see you there.” 

“See you,” Dustin says then hangs up the phone. 

Mike then calls Lucas. Lucas answers and Mike tells him, “Hey, it’s Mike. Will and Eleven are here today. Are you able to come to the mall with us in a few minutes?”

“Sure. We weren’t doing anything today anyway,” Lucas says. 

“Okay well see you there soon,” Mike says and hangs up.

Mike goes over to Eleven and Will, “So is Max coming?”

“Yep, she will be there in a few minutes,” Eleven tells Mike.

“Good. Dustin and Lucas will be there in a few minutes too, so we should leave now.” Mike suggests.

Mike and Eleven both nod. “Going to the mall, be back by 3,” Mike tells his mom. 

“Okay, be safe,” she tells them.

They head out the door and use the same bike situation as last time. Eleven on the girl bike with Mike and Will on Mike’s bike. While Mike was riding the bike to the mall, he got the same feelings as last time, he was happy that Will was riding with him. When they arrive at the mall, they see Max and Lucas. They lock up their bikes and go over to them. “Hey guys, where is Dustin?” Mike asked worried, Dustin is usually the first one there. 

“He should be here soon, we just got here” Lucas responds. 

Mike sits on the bench next to Max and Lucas to wait on Dustin. A few minutes pass and soon Dustin comes in riding his bike. Out of breath, Dustin states, “Sorry I’m late.”  
“It’s okay. We were worried though, usually, you are the first here” Mike tells him.

“I just had a bike problem and had to fix it before I could get here” Dustin explains.

Max gets up and starts walking to the mall entrance. “Wait” Mike exclaims. 

“What? Aren’t we going in the mall” Max asks confused.

“Yes, but first I have to tell you guys something,” Mike looks over to Will and Will nods, “and so does Will.” 

“Oh, you should have just said something,” Max says as she sits back down. 

Mike takes a deep breath and looks at all his friends, “For a month now, Will and I have been in a relationship.” 

Lucas looks puzzled, “You mean in a romantic way?”

“Yes,” Will inputs. 

“Ohh, so is that why when we went to the arcade you and Will were on the same bike” Lucas asks. 

Mike grins, “Haha no, that was for a different reason.”

None of his friends look angry, they all looked happy. Mike was ready for a response like the one his mother gave last weekend, but that was not the case. Mike’s face must have shown this as Dustin asks him, “Is everything alright?”

Mike did not realize his expression was showing, “Oh. Yea, I was just expecting a more negative response.”

They all seemed shocked and Dustin asked what they were all thinking, “Why?”

“After the way my mom reacted, I wasn’t expecting positive responses.”

“But you know we will support you and Will,” Dustin says, and Lucas nods his head in agreement.

Mike looks at Max who seems content, “What about you?”

Max looks up, “What about me?”

“What do you think about the relationship?” Mike asked her.

“I think it is good. Do what you want. I will still hang out with you guys and support your relationship.” 

Mike smiles at them, “Thank you guys for being so supportive.”

“Anytime,” Dustin says and gives Mike a pat on the back. 

Mike was thrilled with how well the reactions were to their relationship. He could finally be happy with their relationship because someone actually supported it. He knew his friends were true friends and he was thankful to have them.

It was only 1 o’clock so they had about 2 hours to hang out before they had to leave. They spent most of the time goofing around, having a good time, and some shopping here and there. Having so much fun, they lose track of time and barely look at the clock. Mike finally looking at a clock came to the realization that it was already 3:15. He starts to panic, they were supposed to be home already. “Guys, we have to leave.”

“But why, are you not having fun,” Eleven asks.

“I am having fun, but it is 3:15 and I told my mom we would be home by 3” Mike says in a slightly panicked voice.

“Oh crap” Eleven responds also in a panicked voice, “We should get going, it was nice to hang out.”

The others say goodbye to them and they are on their way home. They pedal as fast as they can and make it home by 3:35. When they open the door Mrs. Wheeler is standing in the doorway waiting for them, “You are late.”

Mike stops before going inside, “Sorry, we lost track of time.”

She doesn’t look mad she just steps aside and lets them inside. They go inside and decide to play cards to pass time before dinner. Once dinner is ready they eat, and then they go their separate ways; the kids in the room and the parents somewhere else. Mike, Will, and Eleven catch up on what has been happening since the last time they visited. Nothing really happened for any of them except gift buying. 

It was already getting late, they spent a lot of time talking. They talked about the plans for the time they were visiting this time. Their plans were just to spend time together and exchange gifts Christmas morning, but the only person who doesn’t know what the plans are for Christmas Eve is Mike. Will told Eleven about the date idea and she thought it was a great plan. They talked until they fell asleep and awoke the next morning.


End file.
